Techbargains Reviews

"DOA -- Dead on arrival." That's what Apple rockstar and CEO Steve Jobs had to say about 7-inch form factor tablets during an earnings call in late 2010. He described them as "tweeners" awkwardly positioned in between smartphones and the iPad, and ultimately incapable of competing with either one. Too expensive and either too big or too small, is how he deemed them.

If that's the case, then has Research In Motion (RIM) gone mad? After all, the BlackBerry PlayBook is a 7-inch slate, one of those so-called tweener devices Jobs spoke of. It's bigger than a smartphone, smaller than an iPad, and therefore dead on arrival, right?

Wrong. Dead wrong. After spending some hands on time with the PlayBook, we can confidently tell you there's a market for 7-inch tablets. The PlayBook isn't a perfect device and it's saddled with a few potentially deal-breaking flaws, but its form factor isn't one of them. We'll talk more about the PlayBook's size and cover the pros and cons in just a moment, but first, a quick rundown of the pertinent specs.

7-inch capacitive touchscreen display (1024x600 resolution)

Dual-core 1GHz TI OMAP4430 processor

1GB RAM

3MP front-facing camera

5MP rear-facing camera

16GB / 32GB / 64GB internal storage

802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR

Flash 10.1 support

QNX operating system

What We Liked:

Fits and Feels Just Right: To continue from above, a 7-inch tablet might not appeal to everyone, but it will attract a great many who give the form factor the benefit of the doubt. Yes Mr. Jobs, it's larger than a smartphone, but that means you won't have to squint when reading webpages, and there's more screen real estate for watching movies and playing games on its brightly lit LCD screen. And yes, it's certainly smaller than the mighty iPad, which makes it even more portable. Another advantage is weight. The PlayBook weighs less than a pound; the iPad 2 does not, nor do any other 'full-size' tablets, like Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 or Motorola's Xoom. It's not quite as light as a Kindle, but we found we were able to wield the PlayBook with one hand for extended periods.

The PlayBook is also comfortable thanks in large part to its rubberized backing. We suppose this improves grip too, at least in theory, but the real treat is the soft feel on your fingers as you wrap them around the back.

Real Multitasking: Hands down, the PlayBook is a superior multitasker than the iPad. Rather than halt one app and shove it into memory while you switch to another, the PlayBook keeps apps running as you mosey about the OS. You can, for example, play a video and bounce back the homescreen. A bar above the icons holds all your running apps where you can scroll through them, even as they continue to run. This is how multitasking on tablets should be.

Navigation: RIM wisely encourages users to run through a couple of very quick tutorials during the first boot to get acquainted with the UI. There isn't a home button like you would find on the iPad or Android devices, and instead the PlayBook sports a touch-sensitive bezel. To bring up the app menu, you place your finger on the bottom bezel and swipe upwards. If an app is already open, this same motion reduces it to a thumbnail allowing you to multitask. Swiping down from the top bezel either brings up the settings menu, or displays additional options an open app might have (like saving a document). The learning curve is ridiculously low and it will take all of two minutes before it feels entirely intuitive. It's very slick.

Flash!: The PlayBook supports Adobe's Flash 10.1 platform, allowing you to surf the web without running into any roadblock. We were able to load videos from within the browser on Facebook and other online portals, as well as play games without any major hiccups.

Overall Performance: Credit both the QNX operating system and 1GHz dual-core processor for the PlayBook's silky smooth performance. We didn't experience any lag moving through menus and jostling icons about, apps loaded relatively quick, and web browsing performance was on par for current generation tablets. In the SunSpider JavaScript benchmark, the PlayBook scored 2310.3ms, compared to 2180ms on the iPad 2 (lower scores are better). The handful of games we played were jitter free as well.

What We Didn't Like

No microSD Slot: In terms of storage, what you see is what you get, or more appropriately, what you're stuck with. RIM offers the PlayBook in 16GB ($499), 32GB ($599), and 64GB ($699) capacities, and you can count on losing about 4GB right off the bat for the OS and included apps.

Long Boot: For as fast as the PlayBook is once it's up and running, getting there from a cold boot will test your patience. We clocked the PlayBook's startup at 71 seconds, more than three times longer than the iPad 2 (23 seconds). Even our desktop computer loads faster than the PlayBook. Luckily, you shouldn't need to power down the PlayBook very often; sleep mode works just fine.

Limited Selection of Apps: Here is where the iPad and, to a lesser extent, Android tablets hold a big advantage. With more time on the market, RIM's App World will become populated with more tablet specific titles and eventually lessen the gap, but in the here and now, there are a lot fewer apps to sift through, as well as some noticeable omissions (like Pandora).

Port and Button Placement: RIM designed the PlayBook in a way that encourages users to hold it in landscape mode. It's in this orientation that the front-facing camera appears on top and browsing looks best. However, it's also in this position that the volume rocker, play/pause button, and power button all sit inconveniently out of reach on top of the device.

No Native Email/Contacts/Calendar: Many have accused RIM of rushing the PlayBook to market because it lacks a native email client, contacts, and a calendar. Whether or not there's any truth to that is irrelevant; the bottom line is the PlayBook currently ships without three important and basic features we expect any tablet to have, especially one geared towards business users. There are a few webmail icons littered on the desktop (Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, and AOL Mail), but these are nothing more than browser-based shortcuts, not true email clients. Things are a little better for BlackBerry smartphone owners - all five of you - who are able to use the BlackBerry Bridge to access email, calendars, BackBerry Messenger, and other features on their phone from the PlayBook.

Our Verdict:

Scoring the BlackBerry PlayBook isn't easy. The device holds a lot of promise, and once RIM rolls out an update that addresses the missing features and developers flesh out the app store, the PlayBook will be deserving of a second look, and a higher verdict. In the end, we have to be fair, but firm, and can't score the PlayBook on potential alone, hence why we gave it a 3.5 out of 5.

At the same time, there's a lot to like in the PlayBook. Plain and simple, Steve Jobs is wrong about 7-inch tablets being dead on arrival. At 7.6 (W) x 5.1 (H) x 0.4 (D) inches and 0.9 pounds, the PlayBook is highly portable and just feels right. It's also comfortable to hold with one or two hands. Minus the missing features, things only get better when you fire it up. RIM did a great job with the QNX operating system, and we found navigating the PlayBook easier than Android and more functional than iOS. Throw in a dual-core processor, Flash 10.1 support, true multitasking, a brightly lit LCD screen with superb off-angle viewing, and onboard cameras that don¿t suck, you have a tablet that, despite its setbacks, makes a strong case for itself, and will only get better in time.